NCAA puts Travis Black's basketball dream on hold

Sunday

Nov 3, 2013 at 11:37 PM

Former SMC, SCA standout Travis Black is unable to continue his basketball career at Clayton State after the NCAA rules him ineligible.

By TODD SHANESYtodd.shanesy@shj.com

Travis Black left home in Ireland barely 17 years old, second-oldest of nine children, to pursue an education and develop his basketball skills in the United States.He moved in with an uncle and went to Spartanburg Christian Academy and then Spartanburg Methodist College, leading the Pioneers as their point guard to a 64-8 record in two seasons, including a No. 1 national ranking and a third-place finish in the NJCAA tournament.But the thing that made Black most proud, he said, was when he received a full scholarship at Clayton State, a Division II school in Morrow, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. With a financial burden lifted from his parents and a basketball future coming into focus, his dreams were coming true.But the NCAA has made a steal at mid-court.Black has been stripped of his eligibility. The NCAA ruled that, because Black graduated from high school in Ireland — even though he did so a year ahead of schedule — his two years at Spartanburg Christian counted against his college entitlement. SCA classified him has a high school junior when he came to the United States. But after he got to Clayton State, he was disqualified by the NCAA. Black and the compliance office at the college pleaded his case with an appeal, but it was officially denied last week.“My dream has been crushed,” Black said. “I have to figure out what I'm going to do.”Black, 6-foot-3, led SMC with 4.6 assists, compared to just 1.7 turnovers, per game. He also averaged two steals, four rebounds and eight points. He shot 42 percent on 3-pointers and was a scorer when the Pioneers needed it.“The kid was just trying to get an education and play basketball,” SMC head coach Jeff Brookman said. “There are worse things going on in the NCAA than a kid going to a Division II school to get a degree. It's crazy.”What frustrated Black through the process, he said, was all the work that was done and that NCAA officials never seemed helpful.“Right after I signed, I started doing paperwork,” Black said. “I did paperwork from April until October. I mean serious paperwork. I had to account for every game I participated in since I've been in America, exact dates and all that stuff. I sent them transcripts from every school. But they were unorganized. They said they kept losing my stuff. I had to resend everything.”Black was a prize recruit for Clayton State first-year head coach Paul Harrison, who left Wofford after six years as an assistant for that job. Harrison brought in Black, who was getting high interest from Division I teams, including USC Upstate, to run the offense and be one of the team leaders. “It's awful for a lot of reasons,” Harrison said. “First of all, he's a great, great, great kid. As good of a player as he is, he's a better person. Guys like Travis Black are ones you want to build programs around. He makes everybody better and wants them all to do well.“The fact of the matter is he did nothing wrong. I don't think anybody did anything wrong. Spartanburg Christian did it the way it's supposed to be done. They gave him placement tests that any transfer student would be given and determined he was a junior, based on his academic background. SMC didn't do anything wrong, either. It's just a shame.“… Anger is a not a word I should use. I'm just really disappointed. I'm disappointed because Travis Black is all about doing what's right. He's worked his tail off to be a better student, a better player. He's a great, great player. He is respected and loved amongst our team already.”As for now, Black will remain on the team. He'll wear a tie and sit on the bench for home games. But Clayton State can't afford to keep him on scholarship. It will be pulled after this semester. “I was really excited about being here,” Black said. “The team was going to be really good. I still think it will be good. I hope we can still do well. But I really wanted to play. Coach Harrison had enough faith in me to offer a full scholarship. I wanted to do well for him. But now he's going to have to rearrange the team. Somebody else is going to have to play point guard.”Harrison said Black has been unnecessarily apologetic to everyone, including the compliance director and school president.“Travis said, 'Coach, I'm so sorry,' ” Harrison said. “I told him, 'Don't be sorry,' and he said, 'You could have recruited another point guard.' I said, 'We recruited you. We wanted you. And we still have you. The fact of the matter is you can still be a huge part of this team.' ”Black said he may try out for track and soccer, two sports he competed in during high school, and possibly earn half-scholarships in each. But he also wants to be a college basketball coach. So Harrison is hoping Black will take out student loans and stay with the team at least until he graduates.“To be a college basketball coach, you have to graduate and you have to be around a college program,” Harrison said. “Quite frankly, I think he can help us immensely by being a practice player and an unofficial coach. I'd like him to watch film, learn how to edit and break it down. He can get that part of his career started. I understand where he's coming from with track and soccer, but if he wants to coach basketball, I think he should be fully involved in our program.“Most of all, Travis needs to realize that his dreams are not gone. We can't let that happen.”

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